Notes

The Companies That Are The Least Well-Known To In The Asbestos Litigation Industry
Asbestos Litigation

Each asbestos case is unique however, the general procedure for defending such claims is the same. Your lawyer will require you to conduct depositions of the plaintiff.

The cause of asbestos exposure can be numerous, not only one employer or company. This is why asbestos cases usually involve multiple defendants.

Determining the Source of Exposure

To submit an asbestos claim it is crucial to pinpoint asbestos exposure. Lawyers for victims often make use of medical records to determine asbestos' source. This can assist victims in obtaining compensation from the companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure.

Compensation is required by mesothelioma patients as well as their families to pay for the expense of expensive treatment. Compensation can also help families cope with the emotional burden of a mesothelioma being diagnosed.

Asbestos cases are complex legal issues. The victims must be aware of their rights and the procedure. While attorneys can handle a lot of aspects of a case the plaintiffs are expected to take part in the case too. This includes responding to discovery requests and taking depositions.

It is also important to keep in mind that statutes of limitations in New York are limited, and it is essential to consult an experienced asbestos attorney as soon as possible. If you do not file your claim within the specified time period, you could lose out on financial compensation.

In a few instances, asbestos products made by several companies have been used to expose victims. In these cases, the victims lawyers might need to identify the manufacturer of each product, as well as the employers or contractors who provided the asbestos-containing materials.

Asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort in American history, and it has been the cause of dozens of bankruptcy filings by asbestos manufacturers. Many of these companies have set up trust funds to pay compensation to asbestos victims. Yet asbestos defendants continue to deny the evidence linking asbestos exposure to mesothelioma or lung cancer. This is in spite of the research of doctors such as Dr. Irving J. Selikoff and Dr. Jacob Churg.

Developing a Database

A lawsuit involving asbestos-related illnesses or mesothelioma is distinct from a typical personal injury case. In many cases asbestos litigation, there are many of the same defendants (companies that are being sued) and many of the same law firms representing plaintiffs, and a lot of the same expert witnesses.

To be able to build a successful asbestos defense, lawyers need to have access to a vast database that can identify possible exposure sources. This includes reviewing the job site, talking to coworkers, and obtaining documents from suppliers and employers. This involves finding and interviewing doctors or nurses who may be able be able to testify about asbestos exposure.

This kind of database can be difficult to build, particularly if the data has been lost over time. In these situations, it may be necessary to reconstruct a complete insurance program and claims database using multiple sources including loss runs, claim files internal system, as well as defense counsel records. It can take years, or decades, to complete.

Asbestos lawyers should also have access to a software that allows them to find potential exposure areas and identify potential defendants. The information that is at the fingertips of lawyers can save both valuable time and money.

After the bankruptcy of many asbestos producers, plaintiffs' lawyers searched for new defendants to their lawsuits. In the end asbestos cases in West Virginia have become defined by tri-annual consolidated trial groups where the number of defendants is paramount, and suits that name fewer than 100 defendants are a rarity.

Identifying defendants

The majority of asbestos cases are founded on evidence based on facts that are discovered. Asbestos firms have denied for many years that their products could cause harm, but once lawsuits began the company's documents exposed evidence of the dangers. Sparks asbestos attorneys can help plaintiffs establish that certain defendants' products caused their injuries. To win a case, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant's product was used at his workplace and that they were exposed to it inhaling dust, and that the exposure to the dust was a major factor in his injuries.

Since asbestos cases contain multiple defendants, the process of identifying defendants is different from an ordinary personal injury case. By interviewing coworkers and family members, reviewing invoices and work orders, getting documents from suppliers and vendors, and analyzing asbestos samples taken from the plaintiff's workplace as well as home it is possible to build an online database that links employers, locations, and products. The type of asbestos used such as amosite, chrysotile or crocidolite - can also be helpful in identifying defendants as each product is produced by an individual manufacturer.

Defendants are required to carefully review these facts, and identify all possible sources of exposure. This may include a thorough review of more than 40 years of records from the Social Security, tax, union, and other documents of a worker. Due to the long latency of asbestos-related injuries, it is difficult and costly to create an accurate database.

Due to the huge number of cases and limited resources of many defendants, many asbestos cases are being referred to as multi-district litigation (MDL) in federal courts. This practice allows defendants to share their resources and avoid duplication of discovery.

The process of creating a case

Asbestos lawsuits involve extensive research and the examination of a large number of documents. This can be particularly challenging because asbestos exposure often occurred years before a victim was diagnosed with a disease. To identify the sources of exposure, lawyers must conduct interviews and review the thousands of pages of documents like union documents, employment records, tax and social security files, and medical and laboratory reports.

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs must also do everything they can to find other defendants. In many cases, the number of defendants could be as high as 30 or 40. To accomplish this, they must look further down the supply chain and research companies that may have a connection to asbestos that have not been identified in the lawsuit.

This process can be extremely long and time-consuming, particularly when the plaintiff is suffering from mesothelioma or other serious illnesses. In addition, it can be often difficult to locate witnesses and obtain physical evidence.

An attorney for mesothelioma will try to identify all defendants and the connection to the victim's exposure. This could include a thorough examination of the last 40 years of a victim's life, including interviews and a review their social security as well as labor, union, and tax records.

A successful asbestos litigation strategy depends on a wealth of experience in a tangled area of law. At McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia we have been at the forefront of asbestos litigation since our founding at the beginning of 1994. We are also national leaders in defending firms involved in industry-wide, multi-jurisdictional litigation. We act as National Coordinating Counsel, and liaison counsel. We represent and manage the interests of a broad variety of defendants, including product manufacturers, distributors, and contractors. We have a wealth of experience establishing and developing important defenses including expert testimony, jurisdictional Case Management Orders.

Prepare for the trial

Lawyers must meticulously prepare their cases for trial in order to ensure that their clients' arguments and evidence are the strongest they can be. This involves reviewing medical records and preparing all witnesses. It is also about identifying the exhibits that will be used at the trial. This process can take a long time in complicated cases.

Many asbestos victims develop a less severe disease like asbestosis, the pleural plaque or fibrosis, prior to the mesothelioma's development. Asbestosis symptoms can include tightening of the lungs which may cause difficulty breathing, coughing and chest pain.

Asbestos victims' lawyers must also scrutinize the evidence to find possible defendants who could be held responsible for the asbestos-related injuries. This involves interviewing co-workers, family members, asbestos manufacturers, asbestos abatement workers and obtaining various documents.

After identifying a potential defendant an attorney must determine the liability of the party. The defendants could be individuals, companies or governmental agencies. They are accountable for their wrongful actions.

A variety of legislative solutions to end asbestos litigation have been formulated in Congress. However, these initiatives have failed due to a number of complex political reasons. Asbestos victims along with their lawyers and government are determined to hold negligent asbestos firms accountable for their actions.


Waters Kraus & Paul is a law firm that has handled hundreds of cases in New York State and across the nation. Our attorneys have held asbestos manufacturers insurance companies, asbestos manufacturers, and other responsible parties accountable. In Upstate New York asbestos litigation is divided into five judicial districts which are assigned cases by judges who have expertise in asbestos-related matters.

The Asbestos Litigation Group welcomes all AAJ members, including regular, life sustainer, President's club members. Members of the Asbestos Litigation Group network and discuss legal issues strategies, as well as at winter and annual conventions.

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